S.A. schools score below others in state

Comal Independent School District includes Mountain Valley Middle School, whose cafeteria sports a message about learning in the district. None of the district's 22 ranked campuses scored below a C in annual findings from nonprofit Children at Risk, based in Houston.

Comal Independent School District includes Mountain Valley Middle School, whose cafeteria sports a message about learning in the district. None of the district's 22 ranked campuses scored below a C in annual

Carol Zavala, 7 (left), and Uvence Garza, 8, learn at Lamar Elmentary School. The San Antonio Independent School District campus saw its ranking from Children at Risk jump from No. 162 last year to No. 8 this year.

Carol Zavala, 7 (left), and Uvence Garza, 8, learn at Lamar Elmentary School. The San Antonio Independent School District campus saw its ranking from Children at Risk jump from No. 162 last year to No. 8 this

This year, the rankings were expressed in “A” through “F” grades. The analysis of 485 schools here gave only 28 percent of them an A or B, compared with 51 percent of Houston-area schools, 52 percent for Dallas/Fort Worth and 58 percent for Austin.

San Antonio also had the highest proportion of schools scoring a D or F, at 21 percent.

“We are seeing improvements in the urban schools in Dallas and Houston, and we're seeing the same in Austin,” said Bob Sanborn, CEO of Children at Risk. “We're not seeing it in San Antonio.”

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Castro said the responsibility to improve schools falls on policymakers, administrators, teachers and students.

“Everyone has a role to play in enhancing educational achievement,” he said.

The rankings were based on state test scores and gains, attendance, the rate at which students repeat a grade, class sizes and graduation rates. The nonprofit also weighs the percentage of students considered “economically disadvantaged” in an attempt to more accurately compare poor and wealthy schools.

Every campus in the North East Independent School District, the second-largest in the city, was ranked C or better, with the exception of a single D, and there were no F's. Harlandale Independent School District saw 14 of its 19 schools rated get a “C,” but it led an area list of urban high schools with a first and second place.

Many districts here contain polarities of high- and low-performing campuses, none as clearly as the San Antonio Independent School District.

Highlights, lowlights

With about 54,000 students, SAISD covers a wide swath of the inner city and in recent years has reined in previously sky-high pregnancy and dropout rates. But many of its campuses have struggled academically. Its board has been searching for more than a year for a permanent superintendent.

“We've been focusing on literacy, and we have been looking very hard and delving deep into reading and writing, particularly this past year, because we know that that will have an impact on all (test) scores,” Interim Superintendent Sylvester Perez said.

He questioned the wisdom of comparing San Antonio schools with those in cities with more robust economies, adding, “I think you have to improve the infrastructure, the housing, the jobs. ... All of that has to be working in concert with improving the education of the children, and when you do those things simultaneously, you will see a rising tide.”

Children at Risk gave only two of the 86 SAISD schools it analyzed an A — and rated one of them the best middle school in the state: the Young Women's Leadership Academy, an in-district charter with 71 percent of its students considered economically disadvantaged.

Sam Houston High School, despite millions of federal grant dollars to turn around low student performance and abysmal graduation rates, is again at the bottom of the list.

Fox Tech, which received the same grant and is transitioning to magnet programs, has improved considerably. It was ranked at No. 60 in the area last year but now claims the No. 20 spot and a B rating.

Lanier High School dropped in the rankings. Its principal, Miguel Elizondo, said close to 96 percent of his students are considered “economically disadvantaged” and 60 percent of incoming freshmen read below grade level, a challenge for educators.

The Children at Risk analysis highlights problems the school needs to work on but didn't consider its programs that help students earn certifications before they graduate — “and for us, it's huge,” Elizondo said.

The district's Lamar Elementary School jumped from a ranking of 162 out of 299 area elementaries to No. 8 this year. Lamar's third- and fourth-graders had the area's highest scores on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, though 96 percent of its students last year were considered economically disadvantaged.

The school's small classes, which average 15 students, are likely a reason for the improvement. Principal Sharon Robinson said the ratio has evolved mainly because Lamar has been losing students for years: It can hold 415, but this year's enrollment is 225.

Robinson goes door to door with her data clerk, trying to recruit new families, but the neighborhood is changing, losing apartment complexes to demolition amid an influx of higher-income newcomers, she said.

She tries to pair veteran educators to the same class over time. Partnerships with outside organizations, which soon will include Trinity University, have helped.

According to Children at Risk, Lamar's per pupil spending comes out to $8,152, higher than many other schools. Counselor Kim Aston said much of it goes to intervention and tutoring. Like other Title 1 schools, Lamar receives additional federal dollars to help educate its neediest students, and Robinson said she looks for savings, such as sharing a music teacher, a librarian and a full-time nurse with another school.

'No exceptions, no excuses'

Comal Independent School District, north of Bexar County, has consistently done well in Children at Risk's ratings. None of its 22 campuses ranked below a “C” this year. It fits a pattern for more affluent, nonurban districts, which tend to have better test scores, lower teacher turnover and higher graduation rates.

About a third of the district's 18,000 students are considered economically disadvantaged, and district officials said their numbers are rising because of the sting of recession.

Roughly half of the 675 students at Comal ISD's Mountain Valley Middle School, for example, are considered economically disadvantaged. In Texas, an increase in low-income students has generally correlated with increases in Hispanic enrollment, but about 70 percent of the school's students are white.

“There are people who have become situationally poor, as they haven't experienced it before,” Principal Sean Maika said. “We saw tremendous development around here, but it dried up and people lost money.”

Maika said the district's culture doesn't accept failure and that leaders back their employees. The slogan, “Learning for All ... no exceptions, no excuses” is painted on a cafeteria wall.

Middle school students are considered the most challenging to teach. Maika said there's room for improvement but that his school has developed programs to engage and motivate them, including a partnership with Cisco Systems in which they can take apart, diagnose and repair computers and earn certification for it. Officials said it's the only program of its kind at the middle school level in the country.

North East ISD, a large district with a relatively diverse student population, consistently does well in the rankings. This year, it dominated the area's lists of “A” schools: half of the elementaries, two of the three middle schools and three of the four highest-rated high schools.

The district's Encino Park Elementary jumped from No. 13 last year to No. 2 for elementaries. Another NEISD school, Roan Forest Elementary, was No. 1.

Former Encino Park Principal Colleen Bohrmann said her staff watched the rankings. In 2011, the school came in fourth among area elementaries, “then we had a dip to 13, and we didn't like that,” she said. “So, honestly, it kind of spurred us on.”

The school focused on three things: high expectations for students and staff, fidelity to what Bohrmann said was an already good curriculum and making sure every student knows someone is looking out for them.

Teachers are expected to know each child's academic strengths and weaknesses and know “something personal about them.” Bohrmann said. “Were they having a hard time at home? ... Do they play sports?”

The School of Science and Technology-San Antonio ranked No. 3 among area high schools, but the charter organization's two elementaries got a D and an F. Superintendent Emin Cavusoglu said students tend to enroll there at least one grade level behind what they should be.

“The more that the students stay with us, the more they will move up,” he said, but elementary students haven't had as much time to catch up.

He said the schools have small, intensive classes for kids who need extra help in reading or math.

“When they get to middle school and high school, we have them ready for college, actually,” he said.